As life drawing books go, you won't get many that are better than the ones written by Giovanni Civardi. He has a pleasantly straightforward style and simple explanations that are hard to beat. In spite of his having written many books, this is a new one rather than a reissue and it's also nice to report that his style seems to have lost that slightly old-fashioned tinge it once had. The other innovation is the introduction of colour. As well as the drawings, which are in the majority, there are also illustrations in watercolour, gouache and coloured pencil which include useful hints on getting skin tones right. The only thing you might want to note is that there are a lot more female than male studies here so, if you're looking for the latter, you might feel a bit let down. If not, it's superb.-Artbookreview.net Giovanni Civardi is one of the greats when it comes to life drawing books. He writes in an easily understood fashion with numerous illustrations to show his point. The human form has always been of interest to art students - perhaps because its an easily studied subject as we have not just our own bodies but are surrounded by others and each has just that small difference which make us individuals. Giovanni has written many books and yet always manages to keep to a refreshing interesting format. This book is new in that he introduces colour using oils, watercolour, gouache and graphite, watercolour and straight coloured pencils along with pastels and charcoal. A real feast of colours full of useful information on usage. The book has a short but useful section on how to achieve believable skin tones - something essential when rendering colour portraits. The final part is composed of many pencil illustrating of different figure poses each one accompanied by explanatory text on how and why the pose is important and what the skeleton and musculature under the skin are doing. Understanding this is one of the keys to creating believable portraits. Another fantastic book from a master of life study, this book is a valuable addition to the library of any student of the human form.-JeannieZelos.com

GIOVANNI CIVARDI was born in Milan in 1947. While training to become a sculptor, portrait artist and illustrator at the Free Life-Study School of the Accademia di Brera, he also studied medicine and surgery. For over a decade, he worked as an illustrator, producing commissions for newspapers, magazines and book covers. During frequent trips to France and Denmark, Civardi put on one-man exhibitions of this work and pursued his interest in studying the relationship between medical anatomy and the human form as depicted by the artist. His experience gained from teaching anatomy, life drawing and portraiture in schools and institutions over many years has led to the publication of numerous books in which Civardi's experiences are brought into focus.